Mance named CEO for Defiance Metal Products

Published: October 23, 2011 8:00AM

Steve Mance has accepted the position of chief executive officer for Defiance Metal Products. He will be responsible for overseeing the sale and marketing, operations, finance, human resources, engineering and purchasing functions of the company. Mance will work closely with the board of directors to define the strategic vision for the company and executing on the tactics that support it.

Mance is a seasoned executive with over 25 years of senior experience, with his last role being general manager of the charging business at Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems, LLC in Elyria. Mance also has relationships with many of Defiance Metal Products existing key customers, experience with metal fabrication, international experience and a strong track record of success.

Previously, he held roles at Hendrickson International as vice president/general manager of the Components Group and Allied Signal as vice president of operations and Six Sigma, both who supply parts predominately to the heavy truck and construction markets. Mance has outstanding credentials in making key operational and financial improvements throughout his career.

Mance has a BS in chemical engineering from State University of New York at Buffalo, N.Y., and has taken graduate courses at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas.

Mance succeeds Dennis Weaver who remains with the company as a director and the company's chief marketing officer.

Reverse raffle: The Defiance Area Chamber of Commerce will host their reverse raffle on Nov. 10 at the Knights of Columbus Hall. Tickets are $100 and includes admission for two, an array of food from Taste of Defiance, open bar and more. Featured at the Taste of Defiance are: Bud's Restaurant, Eric's All American Ice Cream Factory, Kim's Katering, Nancy's, Primo's and Scotty's 111.

Doors will open at 5:30 p.m., with the raffle at 7 p.m. For tickets email sbowling@defiancechamber.com.

Seeking board members: The Ottawa Area Chamber of Commerce is seeking nominations for the board of directors. Individuals should send nominations to the chamber office or call 419-523-3141. Nominees must be full members of the chambers.

Investment: General Motors said Friday that it will invest $325 million in its Warren, Mich., transmission factory, which the automaker said would create or save 418 jobs.

The plant will get equipment to build transmission parts for future electric vehicles, the company said in a statement. The timing of the investment and the exact components that the plant will build were not disclosed. The company would not say how many of the 418 jobs will be new positions. But a summary of GM's new four-year contract with the United Auto Workers union says 360 jobs will be added at the plant for a new transmission that originally was to be built in Mexico. The union said that the jobs were brought to the U.S. as part of the new contract.

The Warren factory now makes transmissions for GM's large crossover SUVs, the Chevrolet Traverse, Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia, as well as the Chevrolet Malibu midsize sedan. It currently employs 679 workers.

GM builds the Chevrolet Volt and Opel Ampera electric cars at a Detroit factory that's close to the Warren transmission plant. It also announced earlier in the week that it plans to build an all-electric Chevrolet Spark mini car for sale in selected U.S. and global markets starting in 2013. A gasoline-powered Spark will be sold in the U.S. and Canada starting next year.

Bringing to America: Ford Motor Co. is confirming its plans to bring a version of its popular European commercial Transit van to North America.

Ford executives joined state and local leaders in Kansas City, Mo., Friday to announce the company will build the full-size vehicle when the model joins its North American lineup in 2013.

The company says it's adding 1,600 jobs and investing $1.1 billion in new facilities at its Claycomo plant to accommodate the new van production and the next generation of the F-150 pickup.

Ford said it will increase F-150 production at the plant by devoting an additional shift for the truck beginning in May.